By James Hibberd
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - NBC has ordered a companion series to its reality hit "The Biggest Loser" starring tough-love trainer Jillian Michaels.
The network has picked up eight episodes of "Losing It With Jillian." Michaels will travel the country showing weight-challenged Americans that they can get the same results as contestants on "The Biggest Loser" without attending the show's immersive fitness boot camp.
In each self-contained episode, Michaels will move into a family's home and give them a top-to-bottom fitness, nutrition and wellness makeover. Unlike "Loser," which is more strictly focused on shedding pounds, "Losing It" will take on multiple aspects of a healthy lifestyle.
The show also will feature celebrity chef Curtis Stone, who will offer the families a nutritional plan and cooking tips.
"In a way, it's a response to the comments we always get on 'Loser,'" Michaels said. "We always hear, 'It's so easy to lose weight when you move into the camp and you're living with trainers' and 'Would they really be able to lose the weight if there wasn't money on the line?' Here we're giving you realistic tools and a realistic environment to transform your life and the life of your family."
No airdate has been set, but a possible strategy is to debut the show after the "Loser" finale in May and roll the episodes into the summer.
"Losing" is in production and marks the first series deal for Michaels and her partner Giancarlo Chersich's production company, Empowered Media.
The series will show a more rounded side of the tough trainer.
"On 'Biggest Loser,' I play a character of sorts," she said. "This show is very different. I'm not going to scream at a 10-year-old. You're going to see different aspects of my personality, and it's more about the biggest picture and not just being skinny."
(Editing by SheriLinden at Reuters)
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